Crane River Park

The Shot Tower

On the long ago given recomendation of old Punk pal Mr Terence Rodgers esq, I made the effort to seek out the mythical 'Crane River Park'. I say 'mythical' as I vaguely knew of the existence of such a place but given its closeness of proximity to my manor and lack of actually having visited it personally had began to think that perhaps it was a figment of my imagination. Thankfully this was not the case and Crane River Park was well worth the wait.
Like nearby Donkey Woods; Crane River Park has an explosive history. According to the London Wildlife Trust www.wildlondon.org.uk
leaflet that I picked up on my visit; mills have existed on the site since 1066 making gunpowder amongst other things, it was less than a hundred years ago in 1926 that the gunpowder mill was finally shut down. The tower pictured on the left was used to make balls for shot but only on a Sunday as the gunpowder mills did not operate that day and the combination of molten lead and gunpowder was considered a bit risky!